Over the course of America’s past quarter century, few events have matched the impact of September 11, 2001. The terrorist attacks left a rift in society that hasn’t fully recovered even as it has moved on. With art seeking to explore the ins and outs of a complicated day, few stories have resonated in modern times quite like Come From Away. The Canadian production is an embodiment of the kindness and hospitality that can happen when people put aside their differences. While the story is unwieldy on paper, the results are a perfect execution of what a small cast can achieve. It’s at times hilarious while other times devastating, creating a documentation of a unique time in history where light usurped the immediate darkness. While most rationally see 9/11 as morbid, Come From Away’s gift is finding the humanity that exists inside the potential of everyone.
Few musicals embody the stereotype of the kindly Canadian quite like this. Even in an opening that features police officers asking speeders to slow down in less polite language, there is a moral decency displayed as the dozen actors introduce central players. There’s even a fourth-wall breaking technique when they tell the audience “Welcome to the Rock.” It’s slang for Newfoundland: an island that used to be a hub for transcontinental flights. By 2001, the aviation history is more akin to a graveyard where few dare to travel. That is, until they’re forced to take care of thousands of passengers redirected there when all flights are grounded.
What’s great about the show is how the ensemble balances between a Canadian protagonist and a supporting player who, as the title suggests, comes from away. The main group focuses on people who have been on a plane for over 28 hours before being let loose in an unknown country. The show’s biggest strength is the clarity with which it shuffles between narratives, finding any 30 seconds of singing to feature an emotional shift or comical frustration at others doing karaoke. It soon becomes clear that the show wishes to push past surface-level differences and find the humanity inside everyone. For as enjoyable as the unique stories are, it’s the ensemble numbers that resonate the best. The harmonies carry an emotional lull as the lyrics cleverly jump between speedy rambling to slow-paced introspection.
It also helps that the characters are downright charming. Even while the looming topic provides a sense of dread, the need for levity is the show’s gift and reflects the ways that people bond over things both trivial and life changing. There’s stories of romance, animal rescue, religious persecution, and even comedic bits around race relations. Despite the heaviness of these topics, they are all treated with the same level of warmth and allow for the cast’s duality to truly shine. When every conflict is met with warmth and charity, there is a sense of what humanity could be. There could be a push away from division, but only if one allows one to consider the options.
The recent stop over in Long Beach, CA may not have had all of the highlights of the story. The lack of a turntable stage meant several elements of choreography had to be changed. Even then, everything remains as delightful as ever. The enthusiastic crowd were able to appreciate the fluid execution of the music numbers, finding the constant moving parts to be executed with dizzying precision. If the curtain call is anything to go off of, Come From Away remains one of the most beloved shows of the modern era. Even as time fades and 9/11 moves further away, the need to remember those who made a difference will never go away.
Come From Away is a show that will always be vital. Even if it’s just as a piece of historical entertainment, there is something refreshing about the story’s specificity. Where many will now look at everything with a distance, the personal angles allow the day to feel vital and even familiar to the most naïve of audience members. It may be very funny, but it’s still a respectful look at a complicated event. The story of hope shines brightest, and the larger ability for everyone to survive in good spirits is a miracle unto itself. Few shows matter as much to understanding art’s ability to empathize with others quite like this. As the opener suggests, everyone is welcome at the Rock. Even if you don’t understand half of what they say, their actions speak louder and you’ll be happy to know what they’re capable of.
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